Adam Vinson

Third Place

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

Oil on panel, 2008

My intention for this piece was to revisit individual subject matter from earlier works and incorporate them into one painting, forming a cohesive narrative out of seemingly unrelated elements. For me, the narrative theme is past, present and future. The model, my wife Agnieszka, being the central component, is compelled to examine herself and her future, as represented by the magnifying glass and the model’s pensive, contemplative gaze. While the tattered Dressy Bessy doll, lying neglected in the subject’s lap, suggests the past abandoned. The doll’s once meaningful existence is now nothing more than a nostalgic imprint. Its company no longer a refuge for comfort, but an occasional moment of sentimentality.